Enough to Stay
by nkdobreva
Summary: set in season 5, hayley travels to manosque to find elijah and ends up staying the night after they agree to leave for nola in the morning.


**this is my first ever fanfiction so i'm not completely sure how everything works but this is a little attempt at a scene that i envision taking place in season 5 when hayley travels to manosque to find elijah and tell him all about his life. once she does, they agree to travel back to nola in the morning which leaves hayley spending the night at elijah's room. tbh i have no idea what elijah's character is going to be like after season 5 so this is my take on it. leave feedback in the comments.**

"You aren't sleeping on that", Hayley called out as she lifted herself up to see Elijah lay a blanket on the couch beside the fireplace. She hadn't known this 'new' Elijah for long now, but she already felt safe as she used to be with him.

"Trust me, it's fine. It's actually quite comfortable." Elijah replied with a small smile. It'd been quite a shock learning that he had a family, he was unkillable, he was someone with a lot of enemies and he was in love with someone like Hayley. It hadn't quite settled in.

"No it's not fine, I didn't come here to drop a bombshell and let you deal with it on your own", Hayley protested. "It's a lot, I know. Just come sleep here." She placed her hand on the other side of the double bed. She wasn't completely sure if she could handle it but she wasn't going to push him away again.

Elijah hesistated and opened his mouth as if he was about to say something but before he could, Hayley rose her eyebrows and shot him a look. After a moment, he finally gave in and began to walk towards the bed. He hadn't known Hayley for long at all and yet, he trusted her. He began to lift his shirt up but paused once he saw Hayley's face.

"I hope it's okay, it won't be a problem will it?" Elijah questioned. Hayley paused before she shook her head.

"No, it's fine." She let out a small smile. She thought after 8 years, it'd be fine, but those years weren't easy on her at all. Between Hope coming back from school during the weekends and helping Freya every now and then to find a loophole to this spell, there wasn't much she was doing with her time. As Elijah climed into the silk sheets, Hayley turned so her back was facing him. She felt her heart rate increase and her body begin to heat up as his scent surrounded her. She tried calming herself down in every way she could possibly think of, but none were helping. Thinking it'd distract her from concentrating on her body's changes, she called out to him. "You okay?". She realises how insensitive it was, but she's too stubborn to take it back.

Elijah paused before trying to give an answer. "No...not really." He turned so he was now facing the ceiling and stared blankly. Hayley turned towards him with one hand under the pillow and the other between them. Elijah began to shake his head and let out a sigh. "I find out that I have a family out there, I have brothers, sisters, I even have a niece. You know we're vampires, we can't procreate, how is that even possible?" Hayley opened her mouth to speak but stopped herself and decided to let him continue. "I'm 1000 years old, and I have no memory of it whatsoever. I'm one of the oldest vampires and I have no memory of it whatsoever." Hayley let her eyes wonder up and down the bed to avoid eye contact. She had no reason to feel guilty, but she did. She travelled all this way, to tell a good vampire and a good person that their life was a lie. "And that I was crazy in love with someone", Elijah broke Hayley away from her thoughts. Her eyes immediately met his as he turned his head to face her.

"Why'd you say crazy?" Hayley questioned him.

"Well, from what you told me, I had to watch you marry someone else and live your life with that person, even though I was in love with you. And you also tell me that we ended up together after all that. I wouldn't have that kind of patience or commitment." Elijah stared into her eyes, neither breaking eye contact.

Hayley moved her hand towards Elijah's and began to entwine their fingers together slowly. "That's what I loved about you. You constantly made sacrifices for me and my daughter, however much it hurt you. And it wasn't fair that I pushed you away countless times." Hayley realised that it was the first time she'd ever said that to him. But it wasn't him. It wasn't the man she fell for.

Elijah let go of her hand and placed it on her cheek and began to stroke it, moving as slowly towards her as he could possibly muster. Hayley felt her blood rush to her cheeks and her heart skip a beat. And there, she felt everything rushing back to her. Every feeling she tried to push away and forget in the past 8 years. It wasn't right. It wasn't him. But she began to feel everything she used to feel for the man physically identical to the one she fell in love with.

Breaking away from her thoughts, Hayley could see how close Elijah was to her. "We can't" she said in a small whisper but neither made no attempt to move away or face elsewhere. And just for a second, Hayley turned off any doubt she had in her mind enough to move forward slightly and meet her lips with Elijah's. The kiss was slow but passionate, and enough to make Hayley want to stay.


End file.
